A Stalking in Connecticut
by apprentice wordsmith
Summary: Casefic. Finch sends Reese and Carter to Connecticut to protect a woman from their latest number. Then things get crazy. Rated for violence and very disturbing content in later chapters. Not for the squeamish. UPDATE: As of 8/2/13, ASIC is being overhauled and reposted! Please see inside for details.


I apologize in advance for the length of this note. If you just want to read the story, you can skip the next two paragraphs. If, however, you want to know the thought process behind this piece, read on.

This story was originally written and posted over the course of a week. The actual writing- all 15,000+ words of it- took place in five days because I was in a medically-induced state of weird. (No need to worry; I didn't do anything particularly odd –except write this story).

When I got back to normal, I re-read this story and realized that it needed some work. Okay, a lot of work. Since I have other projects vying for my attention, the overhaul might take some time, but by the end of it, I'll have a story that I don't need to be overly embarrassed about, and my readers will hopefully come away with a better opinion of my writing skills.

Returning readers will already know this, but to the new readers out there: this story is a vastly expanded version of a recurring nightmare that I had a while back. It was extremely gruesome and I wrote this piece hoping that I could make it go away by incorporating that one scene into a story (and possibly allowing Reese to be the hero, because everyone loves some superhero action, right?). Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys reading it, and please send me feedback, especially if you've read the original ASIC. I'd love to hear how version 2.0 stacks up against the first draft.

I don't usually put disclaimers on my stories, since I think they're rather self-evident, but this piece needs one: I do not own Person of Interest. In addition, this story was written for my own personal catharsis, not for monetary gain. To the best of my knowledge, none of the events described herein have occurred, and though some of the places do exist, any resemblance to actual people is accidental.

Chapter 1

Dakota was almost at her car when the phone rang. She dug around in her bag for the device and, upon seeing who it was, answered happily. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Not bad," Neil replied sedately. "I took a road trip yesterday and brought back something for you."

Had she not been in public, Dakota probably would have jumped up and down like a little kid. "Awesome! Did you get a chance to try it out?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah. It's good piece; I think you'll like it. Do you have ammo for it?"

"I've got a few boxes, and more coming next week. When can you bring it over?"

"Whenever you want."

As soon as humanly possible. For the millionth time, Dakota wished some genius would invent teleportation, so she wouldn't have to wait for these things. Alas, no such luck. "I just got out of work, so… fifteen minutes?"

"Sure thing."

"You're the best, Neil."

"Anything for my favorite little sister."

"Your only little sister." She rolled her eyes playfully, even though he couldn't see it.

"And therefore, my favorite." If she didn't know better, she'd think he wanted something. But that was just Neil. Steady, protective, always looking out for the people around him.

So she just laughed. "Goodbye, Neil. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Dakota couldn't stop herself from grinning as she ended the call. Neil had offered to get her an AR-15 almost two months ago, but since they were essentially illegal in Connecticut, he had to do some hunting around to find one that didn't cost a king's ransom. Last week, he'd gotten a lead on one in New Hampshire, and, though Dakota was perfectly capable of buying her own firearms, Neil had volunteered to fetch the piece back for her. Dakota suspected that he wanted to feel like he was doing something to protect her. Or he just wanted an excuse to pick up some more hardware for his own arsenal.

Whatever the reason, she was now the proud owner of an illegal weapon, in addition to her legal guns. Dakota typically considered herself a law-abiding person, but over the last few months, she had developed some moral flexibility when it came to ensuring her personal safety. At this point, there was not a jury in the world that would convict her if she_ did _end up shooting Steve.

But, with a bit of luck, and maybe some divine intervention, she wouldn't use the AR on anything but some targets. With that thought, Dakota made a snap inspection of her car. Nothing looked out of place and the thin red line of chalk surrounding the vehicle was undisturbed.

Just as she was putting her stuff in the passenger's seat, her phone chirped again, this time with a text alert. Dakota straightened back up and looked at the screen. She didn't recognize the number. There was a good chance it was Steve, though. She opened the text anyway, hoping it was innocuous.

It wasn't.

_Must be good news. You should smile like that all the time_.

Dakota froze as the implication sank in. If he could see her smile, he was close by. She snapped her head up and scanned all around the parking lot. Steve was tall, fairly good looking and usually well dressed, not exactly inconspicuous. If he was nearby, she would find him. She'd had lots of practice over the past seven months.

There! He was standing between two cars about a hundred feet away, not exactly hiding, but unobtrusive enough that she had missed seeing him as she came out of the building. Dakota felt a flash of hatred for her ex-boyfriend. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? She'd certainly told him to get lost enough times.

It was bad enough being constantly followed and harassed, but the worst thing was that she couldn't do a thing about it. He wasn't violent, which would have justified shooting him, and every time she got enough evidence to file a police report, he would vanish for a few weeks, only to return at some inopportune moment.

Dakota still hadn't decided which outcome she would prefer. The law-abiding part of her said that shooting another person was bad and that police intervention was the way to go. The practical- and vengeful- side said that Steve was never going to stop stalking her on his own, and that shooting him was the most satisfying solution, even if it was more risky.

Unable to make him leave, Dakota settled for memorizing the scene before her. Later, she would add the details to her ever-lengthening list of encounters with Steve. But for now, she hopped in her car and headed home, ensuring that she wasn't followed, even though he already knew her address. She just wanted to get home and get about her afternoon. Maybe, just maybe, he would have the decency to leave her be.

oOoOoOo

Author's note: I have no idea when the next chapter will be up; I have ideas for three different scenes, all of which will serve the story's purposes, but nothing written down. If I get overwhelming support for one particular scene, that may be the one that ends up in the story. Your choices are: Dakota trying out the AR-15, bonding time between Dakota and a friend who knows about the situation with Steve, or Neil freaking out over the precautions that Dakota has to take to feel safe. Let me know if anyone has a preference and thanks for reading!


End file.
